Description
Book SynopsisIn Knowledge, Patents, Power, Marius Buning tells the complex story of how the emergence of a Dutch patent regime is related to wider issues concerning governmental control and innovation. Buning analyses the institutional framework in which "innovative knowledge" could develop in the Dutch Republic from a variety of perspectives. This is not only a comprehensive study of patent law and its administrative and legal framework during the first four decades of the Dutch republic, it also opens up new perspectives on a wide range of issues in cultural and political history— from truth claims in early modern science to issues concerning mercantilism and Dutch seventeenth-century processes of state formation.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Figures and Tables Introduction Preliminary Scope and objectives Outline 1 Inventing a System The Dutch Revolt: Setting the stage Patents in the Habsburg Netherlands The political organization of the Dutch Republic Patents amidst constitutional confusion Conclusions 2 Administrative Practices The application process Examinations and rewards Areas of usage: war, trade and industry Conclusions 3. Legitimate Monopolies Historical backgrounds Privileges as a legal instrument Experimental practices Conclusions 4. Merchants of Ideas The dawn of projects Venture capital The applicants Costumers and clients Conclusions 5 The Circulation of Knowledge Inventions and discoveries Novelties and imitation Competition and friendly exchange Notions of efficiency Conclusions 6. Conclusions: A Dutch Republic of Patents Patents and the production of knowledge Republican patents The aftereffects Bibliography Index
